A Spanner in the Works: The Extraordinary Story of Alice Anderson and Australia's All-Girl Garage by Loretta Smith

$32.99 AUD

Category: Australian

This is Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls meets Amelia Earhart. It's the real-life story of a daring Australian woman who did something extraordinary - then met an early, mysterious end. From the end of the Great War and into the 1920s, Alice Anderson was considered nothing less than a national treasur e. She was a woman of 'rare achievement' who excelled as a motoring entrepreneur and inventor. Young, petite, boyish and full of charm, Alice was the first woman in Australia to successfully pull off an almost impossible feat: without family or husband to back her financially, she built a garage to her own specifications and established the country's first motor service run entirely by women. Alice was also an adventurer, and her most famous road trip occurred in 1926 in a Baby Austin she had purchased exclusively to prove that the smallest car off a production line could successfully make the 1500-mile-plus journey on and off road from Melbourne to Alice Springs, central Australia. However, less than a week after her return, Alice was fatally shot in the head at the rear of her own garage. She was only twenty-nine years old. Every newspaper in the country mourned her sudden loss. A coronial inquest concluded that Alice's death was accidental but testimonies at the inquest were full of inconsistencies. Alice's life was brief but extraordinary, and in this richly detailed and entertainingly told book this pioneering Australian woman comes to life for readers for the first time. ...Show more

Convict Colony: The Remarkable Story of the Fledgling Settlement That Survived Against the Odds by David Hill

$32.99 AUD

Category: Australian

The author of the magnificent bestselling account of the First Fleet returns to early Sydney to tell the story of the years that followed as it's never been told before.

Dark Emu: Aboriginal Australia and the Birth of Agriculture by Bruce Pascoe

$19.99 AUD

Category: Australian

JOE SKYRNSKI, CO-FOUNDER CHAMP EQUITY: 'A must read for every Australian! Drawn from the diaries of European explorers, it comprehensively explodes the self-serving myth we perpetrated about Terra Nullius, that the first Australians were hunter-gatherer savages with no traits of civilisation. Pascoe cle arly documents extensive contemporary evidence to the contrary'  'Dark Emu injects a profound authenticity into the conversation about how we Australians understand our continent ... [It is] essential reading for anyone who wants to understand what Australia once was, or what it might yet be if we heed the lessons of long and sophisticated human occupation.' Judges for 2016 NSW Premier's Literary Awards Dark Emu puts forward an argument for a reconsideration of the hunter-gatherer tag for pre-colonial Aboriginal Australians. The evidence insists that Aboriginal people right across the continent were using domesticated plants, sowing, harvesting, irrigating, and storing -- behaviours inconsistent with the hunter-gatherer tag. Gerritsen and Gammage in their latest books support this premise but Pascoe takes this further and challenges the hunter-gatherer tag as a convenient lie. Almost all the evidence in Dark Emu comes from the records and diaries of the Australian explorers, impeccable sources. Bruce's comments on his book compared to Gammage's: " My book is about food production, housing construction and clothing, whereas Gammage was interested in the appearance of the country at contact. [Gammage] doesn't contest hunter gatherer labels either, whereas that is at the centre of my argument."   ...Show more

Curious Voyages - A Collection of Astoundingly True Tales by Andrew Murray (Illustrator)

$39.95 AUD

Category: Australian

Over thousands of yearsthe world was wide with wind-powered boats, one of man's mostbeautiful constructions, andsailors had to strugglein theage-old game of Man vsSea. This collection of tales isnot a history of sail, it's avoyage through centuries of curious sailing adventures.

1956: The Year Australia Welcomed the World by Nick Richardson

$35.00 AUD

Category: Australian

An engrossing account of a pivotal year in Australia's history. This book debunks one of the hardiest cliches in Australian history- that the 1950s was a dull decade, when the nation seemed only interested in a quiet life, a cup of tea, and a weekend drive. The truth is that, by the time the '60s came around, Australia was already expanding its outlook - politically, economically, and culturally - and central to this were the events of 1956. This was the year when Melbourne hosted the Summer Olympics, the first edition of the Games to be held outside Europe and North America. It also heralded the arrival of television in Australia. In this year, Prime Minister Robert Menzies grappled with world politics, when he opened the country's doors to refugees from the Hungarian uprising, allowed British nuclear tests at Maralinga, and tried to resolve the greatest diplomatic episode of the decade- the Suez Crisis. In these ways and more, the world came to Australia's doorstep in 1956, challenging rusted-on habits and indelibly shifting the nation's perception of itself. Nick Richardson peels back the layers to reveal Australia at a critical moment in time. He brilliantly recreates the broader events surrounding the Melbourne Olympics at the end of 1956, as well as the dramas of the Games themselves. Throughout, he also follows a range of men and women who were touched by this transformation, to illuminate the personal consequences of being part of Australia's pivotal year. ...Show more

The Art of Being Melbourne by Maree Coote

$69.99 AUD

Category: Australian

Art meets History in - The Art of Being Melbourne Maree Coote monitors the Melbourne zeitgeist through twenty decades of Art to uncover a truly unique portrait of a city. This clever history follows the developing city through its many representations in Art, revealing much about Melbourne and indeed ab out the cradle of Australian Art itself. The Art of Being Melbourne examines the imaging and the imagining of a city in a fascinating collection that features celebrated and rare artworks by colonial mavericks, impressionist masters, iconic Moderns and young contemporaries, together in a single volume for the first time. Through the eyes of artists we can watch as Melbourne oscillates between Place and Idea. More than simply a study of art or of history, this book is witness to the miraculous metamorphosis of a single location over two centuries, and the parallel invocation of culture and identity. The Art of Being Melbourne is both a record of historic fact and a tour of the existential. Coote argues that while cities exist in a constant state of flux, artists often see things others do not. The osmotic, sometimes forensic, nature of their vision is revelatory and intuitive, homing in on the truth of the times. By linking and connecting images across history, The Art of Being Melbourne informs while it entertains. The Art of Being Melbourne reveals to the reader the very tangible proximity of Melbourne's origins, by enlisting the insights of artists to show us our heritage, our character, our short history and ourselves. Melbourne's remarkable youth, accelerated development and remote perspective offer a unique insight into the creation and ideation of a city. Each image offers a unique portrait of Melbourne, and reveals the original perspective of both its creator and its moment in history. The Art of Being Melbourne includes works by Liardet, Russell, Streeton, Roberts, Beckett, Colahan, Tucker, Blackman, Smart, Amor, Senbergs, Shannon, Arkley, Shag, Miso, Luccio and many others. ...Show more

Australia in Focus by Steve Parish (Photographer)

$34.95 AUD

Category: Australian | Series: Australia in focus S.

Australia is an ancient island continent of contrasts and extremes, f rom lush tropical rainforests to the parched deserts of the inland. The continent's diversity of climates, landforms and habitats are home to an array of fauna and flora, many unique to Australia. At sixteen s ites, the natural and cu ltural heritage values are so outstanding that t hey have been inscribed on the World Heritage List. In these, and in nat ional parks and reserves, the country's natural treasures are protected and preserved. These such wonders of Australia are exquisitely captured in Australia in Focus: Australia. ...Show more

Welcome to Country: A Travel Guide to Indigenous Australia by Marcia Langton

$39.99 AUD

Category: Australian

Marcia Langton: Welcome to Country is a curated guidebook to Indigenous Australia and the Torres Strait Islands. In its pages, respected Elder and author Professor Marcia Langton offers fascinating insights into Indigenous languages and customs, history, native title, art and dance, storytelling, and cultural awareness and etiquette for visitors. There is also a directory of Indigenous tourism experiences, organised by state or territory, covering galleries and festivals, national parks and museums, communities that are open to visitors, as well as tours and performances. This book is essential for anyone travelling around Australia who wants to learn more about the culture that has thrived here for over 50,000 years. It also offers the chance to enjoy tourism opportunities that will show you a different side of this fascinating country -- one that remains dynamic, and is filled with openness and diversity. ...Show more

Top Walks in Victoria by Melanie Ball

$34.99 AUD

Category: Australian

Victoria offers a jaw-dropping diversity of bushwalks through areas rich in natural wonders and colourful human history. Experienced travel writer Melanie Ball has hiked every track in this book for walkers of all levels of experience. There are walks for each part of the state, including the renowned W ilsons Promontory Lighthouse loop and salt lake circuits in the Mallee region. Most of the tracks can be completed in a few hours, but there are some more difficult multi-day walks for those wanting more of a challenge. For each walk there is detailed trail information, a map, photographs and beautiful illustrations of fauna and flora that you're likely to see along the way. ...Show more

The Memory Pool: Stories from Australian Childhoods at the Pool by Therese Spruhan

$29.99 AUD

Category: Australian

Smell the chlorine, taste the hot chips and feel the burning concrete underfoot as you read these stories of Australian childhoods at the pool. Swimming is a central part of most Australian childhoods. We idealise beaches and surf, but for many kids the local pool – whether it’s an ocean, ti dal or a chlorinated pool – is where they pass summer days. Pools are places of imagination, daring, belonging, freedom, friendship and romance. For some they are places of hard-core swimming training. This delightful, nostalgic anthology brings together reflections and recollections about the swimming pools of childhood from a range of Australians of diverse ages and backgrounds, well known and not-so-famous, including Trent Dalton, Leah Purcell, Shane Gould, Bryan Brown and Merrick Watts. Evocative, funny and sometimes bittersweet, 28 people remember the pools that shaped their childhoods. Everyone who has ever dived into their local Olympic pool, bush waterhole or saltwater baths will want to submerge themselves in this beautiful book. 'A joyful, moving, nostalgic and original take at what it means to be Australian. Dive in!' — Robert Drewe ‘These immersive stories remind us that the swimming pool is not just the place we first learn to sink or swim. It’s a space of respite and renewal, playtime and pilgrimage, limerence and liminality, community and connection. Dive in – go on – I double dare you.’ — Sian Prior ‘Crisscrossing the nation, spanning generations and histories, these stories celebrate the joy and freedom of being a body in water. Read it while beside your favourite beach or pool, or read it and be transported there.’ — Bernadette Brennan ‘These immersive stories remind us that the swimming pool is not just the place we first learn to sink or swim. It’s a space of respite and renewal, playtime and pilgrimage, limerence and liminality, community and connection. Dive in – go on - I double dare you’. — Sian Prior, lap swimmer and author of  ‘Shy: a memoir’ (Text Publishing). ‘I didn’t go to church as a kid but that was my church – that was my sacred space – a pilgrimage to Sandgate swimming pool.’ — Trent Dalton 'The Memory Pool is a joyful dive into that paradise of Australian childhood, the local swimming pool. In a series of beautifully recalled stories by well-known Australians, it evokes both the sensory bliss of forgetting self in the sights, smells and feel of the swimming pool, and the communal warmth of sharing long summer days simply hanging about at the pool with family and friends. It’s a book for anyone who remembers the sting of chlorine or salt in eyes, the silky feel of water slipping over limbs, and the feel of hot cement under a wet cossie.' — Patti Miller ...Show more

Australia the Photographer's Eye 3rd Ed by Nick Rains

$39.99 AUD

Category: Australian

Award-winning photographer Nick Rains travels Australia with his camera, capturing the country's diverse landscapes and many moods. With this third edition, including two brand-new touring regions, outback New South Wales and north-west Tasmania. Australia The Photographer's Eye displays Rains's stunnin g images of over 30 regions around the country. For each region there's also touring information and a map that pinpoints the best spots from which to capture your own images. In the photo tips section at the back of the book, Rains shares his knowledge of photography, discussing the techniques and skills he has gained over many years, and clearly explains how to successfully photograph landscapes from small-detail shots through to panoramas. ...Show more

The Balfour Correspondent by JAMES DRYBURGH

$39.95 AUD

Category: Australian